For something so small the sandflea packs a pretty bug punch. If you think mosquito bites are bad, you haven’t experienced the little slice of hell that comes with the bite of a sandflea. These tiny critters have very sharp bites, and while with a mosquito bite, you may not notice that you’ve been bitten for a while after it happens, you will most definitely know you have been bitten by a sandflea immediately. This is partly because a sandlfea will bite a human several times, and they tend to bite a person in large groups. So, you’re never dealing with just one bite from a sandflea, you’re guaranteed to have many bites from them all at once – think at least a dozen bites in one small area. Their bites are also extremely itchy, much worse that the itch casued by a mosquito bite. Add to this the fact that you have many of these bites, and the itch can be almost unbearable.

You will often have many bites in one small area, or if you are wearing a bathing suite while out swimming, you could very likely have many bites all over your body. If you get bitten by sandfleas, immediately find the strongest topical analgesic available, as well as an oral analgesic. You want to look for products containing cortison or antihistamine. Make sure you clean any open blisters with hydrogen peroxide and cover with antibiotic ointment, as they can become infected. While most sandfleas just cause horrible pain and itching, some can transmit dangerous diseases, so if you see any open sores or develop a fever, contact your doctor immediately and tell them of the sandflea bites. And you thought mosquitos were our worst insect enemy…

Have you ever been bitten by sandlfeas? What was the experience like and how did you deal with it?